Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
  • D21C—PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE BY REMOVING NON-CELLULOSE SUBSTANCES FROM CELLULOSE-CONTAINING MATERIALS; REGENERATION OF PULPING LIQUORS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
  • D21C9/00—After-treatment of cellulose pulp, e.g. of wood pulp, or cotton linters ; Treatment of dilute or dewatered pulp or process improvement taking place after obtaining the raw cellulosic material and not provided for elsewhere
  • D21C9/001—Modification of pulp properties
  • D21C9/002—Modification of pulp properties by chemical means; preparation of dewatered pulp, e.g. in sheet or bulk form, containing special additives
  • D21C9/005—Modification of pulp properties by chemical means; preparation of dewatered pulp, e.g. in sheet or bulk form, containing special additives organic compounds

Definitions

• the present invention relates to paper debonders and more particularly to a novel paper or fiber debonding formulation.
• tissue debonder reduces the tensile strength of the tissue by weakening the cellulosic fiber-to-fiber bond. Desirably, the ability of the tissue to absorb moisture is not adversely effected by the paper debonder.
• paper debonders are being employed in two consumer product lines.
• One line is the disposable tissue (facial and bathroom) product line where debonders are added to the pulp slurry in the wet end of the tissue manufacturing operation.
• the debonders are expected to provide a finished tissue of improved softness.
• Disposable diapers are the second consumer product line employing debonders and their use is somewhat different than the use of debonders in disposable tissue production.
• the paper debonder is added to the pulp slurry at the wet end of the disposable diaper manufacturing operation (ie. at the same manufacturing juncture as in the disposable tissue manufacturing operation), but the debonder functions as a processing aid to assist in the fluffing of the finished paper sheet into the bulky diaper sheeting.
• the reduced tensile strength of the pulp fibers thus, aids mechanical pickers in fluffing the dried pulp into a bulky sheeting which is soft yet retains excellent water absorbency.
• the present invention is directed to a novel fiber debonding formulation which is not only effective in reducing the cellulosic fiber-to-fiber bond, but also is non-toxic and safe (very low eye and skin irritation).
• the present invention is a method for treating cellulosic pulp fibers to reduce interfiber bonding and to reduce the mechanical strength of webs formed therefrom.
• the method is characterized by blending with an aqueous cellulosic pulp slurry a debonding formulation comprising:
• the resulting debonded cellulosic fiber pulp web possessing reduced interfiber bonding and reduced mechanical strength results from the foregoing method and additionally comprises an aspect of the present invention.
• Advantages of the present invention include the excellent performance imparted by the paper debonders of the present invention in reducing interfiber bonding and reducing mechanical strength for providing fluffy webs of treated pulp which webs or sheets additionally possess excellent moisture absorbency characteristics. Another advantage is that the ingredients of the debonder formulation are non-toxic and are non-irritants. A further advantage is the debonding formulation is fluid at room temperature and is easily handleable by the fluffed pulp or tissue manufacturer.
• alkoxylated fatty acids or fatty alcohols employed in the debonding formulation of the present invention traditionally have not been recognized as effective paper debonders themselves.
• the disclosed quaternary ammonium compounds and alkoxylated fatty acids or fatty alcohols provide a unique (synergistic) fiber debonding formulation which is extremely effective and its effectiveness is quite unexpected based upon the prior art.
• such quaternary amido ammonium compounds can be represented by the general formula :
• R will comprise a CS-C 30 aliphatic group and preferably such groups are hydrocarbyl (fatty) groups. It must be recognized, however, that the occasional presence of oxygen or nitrogen in such substituents may be encountered and their presence is permissible provided that the resulting quaternary ammonium compound in combination with the alkoxylated fatty acid will provide a debonding formulation which possesses the requisite fluidity for use as a paper debonder at commercial scale operations.
• R1 is a C 12 -C 18 aliphatic group typically being a fatty group derived from natural and synthetic fatty acids.
• R 2 comprises a (polyoxy alkylene) hydroxy alkyl group which results from the alkoxylation of the amine nitrogen to which it is attached. Desirably, R 2 will result from the ethoxylation or propoxylation of the amine nitrogen to which it is attached.
• R3 preferably is a C l -C 4 alkyl group and results from the conventional alkylation of a tertiary amine for forming a quaternary ammonium compound.
• X is a monovalent anion typically encountered in the formation of quaternary ammonium compounds and most often will be halogen, nitrate, acetate, hydroxide, sulfate, or the like though chlorine and sulfate are the most prevelant.
• Synthesis of the quaternary ammonium compounds is based upon diethylene triamine (2,2'-diaminodiethylamine).
• the diethylene triamine molecule is reacted with a C 8 -C 30 carboxylic acid for forming amide groups.
• carboxylic or fatty acids gives rise to the R l substituent.
• the resulting diamidoamine then is alkoxylated in conventional fashion and to such an extent that essentially a 100 percent tertiary amine contentresults in the reaction mixture. While theoretically only about one mole of alkylene oxide is required for this reaction, generally an excess, eg. up to 50 percent, will be used to ensure the tertiary amine content requirement.
• ethylene oxide and propylene oxide are the reactants of choice and will result in formation of the R 2 substituent.
• the diamido tertiary amine molecule is alkylated in conventional fashion to form the resulting quaternary ammonium structure.
• Alkyl halogens, alkyl nitrates, alkyl sulfates, etc. will be used for this reaction in conventional fashion and will result in the R 3 substituent and the X monovalent anion.
• the resulting quaternary ammonium compound can be cut in an alcohol, glycol, or similar solvent for increasing its handling characteristics and/or to supply a desired actives concentration of the quaternary ammonium compound for formulating the debonder formulation of the present invention.
• the proportion of quaternary ammonium compound in the ultimate debonding formulation generally will be from between about 10% or 50% by weight of the debonding formulation.
• the fatty acids or alcohols are conventional in nature broadly ranging from C S -C 30 fatty acids or alcohols, advantageously C 12 -C 22 and preferably C 18 fatty acids or alcohols.
• the fatty acids or alcohols are alkoxylated in conventional fashion, advantageously with ethylene oxide, though propylene oxide, butylene oxide, and other conventional alkylene oxides may be used in this reaction scheme.
• the proportion of alkoxy groups generally should be from between about 2 and 12 moles of alkoxy group per mole of fatty acid or alcohol and advantageously from between about 4 and 7 moles per mole of fatty acid or alcohol.
• the proportion of alkoxylated fatty acid or alcohol in the debonding formulation will range from between about 90% to 50% by weight of the debonding formulation.
• the debonding formulation optionally may contain minor proportions of solvents for improving the fluidity and handling characteristics of the debonding formulation.
• solvents for improving the fluidity and handling characteristics of the debonding formulation.
• propylene glycol orthe like may be used in the debonding formulation for improving handling characteristics of the debonding formulation without imparting any adverse effects to the debonded pulp.
• Additional such fluidity-improving solvents include, for example, alkanols, other alkyleneglycols, ethers and the like.
• the proportion of alkoxylated fatty acid or alcohol is rediced to accommodate such solvents for providing between about 40 and 60weight percent alkoxylated fatty acid or alcohol and between about 5 and 20 percent fluidity-enhancing solvent.
• the debonding formulation is manufactured readily by mechanical blending of the quaternary ammonium compound and alkoxylated fatty acid or fatty alcohol in conventional fashion, optionally also containing a fluidity-enhancing solvent.
• the debonding formulation is applied to an aqueous pulp slurry in conventional fashion.
• the type of pulp employed is not a limitation on use of the debonding formulations and can be conventional Kraft pulp or sulfitepulp.
• the debonding formulation is added to the aqueous slurry in a proportion of between about 0.1 and 2% (by weight of the dry pulp solids),advantageously from between about 0.2 and 1%, and preferably between about 0.2 and 0.4 weight percent.
• the pulp slurry can be intended for tissue production, disposable diaper production, or any other cellulosic fiber product wherein reduced tensile strength is desired.
• the pulp slurry will be fluffed for production of disposable diapers, sanitary absorbents, and the like.
• the sheets were removed from the mold and pressed between dry blotters at a pressure of 3.5 kg/cm 2 (50 psi) for a period of 5 minutes on a first press followed by 2 minutes on a second press.
• the pressed sheets then were placed in TAPPI drying ring which were housed under standardized conditions of a constant temperature of 21.1 0 C (70°F) and 50% relative humidity for drying overnight.
• the conditioned hand sheets were tested in accordance with standard test methods set forth below :
• the debonders were added to the pulp at the rate of 1.5 g per kilogram of pulp.
• the pulp was softwood Kraft pulp (Albacel) for the first text series and softwood sulfite pulp (Puget S) for the second test series. The following test results were recorded.

Landscapes

• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Paper (AREA)
• Sanitary Thin Papers (AREA)
• Absorbent Articles And Supports Therefor (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=23848274

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (8)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (7)

• 1984
  • 1984-02-08 EP EP84630017A patent/EP0116512A1/fr not_active Withdrawn
  • 1984-02-09 PT PT7808684A patent/PT78086B/pt unknown
  • 1984-02-10 JP JP59024204A patent/JPS59163499A/ja active Pending

Patent Citations (7)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events